In response to a circulating Facebook petition regarding Breast Cancer Awareness

I got an invite to a Facebook event today. It was for a campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer. As admirable as its intent was, I felt it was misguided in its slacktivism. I had written a response earlier to similar campaign (see here), but here's another.

The information page read:

We are playing a game. Someone proposed that we GIRLS do something special on Facebook to help with Breast Cancer Awareness. Its easy, and Id like you to join us to help it spread. Last year it was... ...about writing the color of the bra that your were wearing in your Fb status and it left men wondering for days why the girls had random colors as their status. This year it has to do with your relationship status. You will where you are, by posting one of the codes below. Remember DO NOT REPLY,JUST POST IN YOUR STATUS TO CONFUSE THE GUYS. Then invite all your female friends to join this event

Given how devastating breast cancer is for women, I am very uncomfortable of playing a "game" in its namesake, even if it purports to dubiously "raise awareness." It is also distressing to me to see that this "game," as the maker has called it, asks women to identify themselves by the status of their relationship, reinforcing, however inadvertently, the patriarchal notion that the worth of a woman exists not in of herself, but is dependent on a being external to her. While I understand and sincerely appreciate the intent here, I firmly believe that rather than these asinine circumlocutions, it would be a much more effective to simply put in status updates facts about breast cancer and links to organizations with which people can volunteer or donate for the cause. http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/How-To-Help/volunteer.aspx

I've posted this response to the Facebook event's page and have already gotten some flack. My favorite so far, "A little ... feminist, aren't we?"

FUCK YES.